Comfort
by GallifreyisBurning
Summary: Set post-Boom Town, Rose is dealing with her feelings about the end of her relationship with Mickey. With some prompting from Jack, the Doctor goes to comfort her.


"How's Mickey?" the Doctor asked as Rose reentered the TARDIS.

"He's okay. He's gone," Rose answered, her voice hollow. She didn't really know what else to say.

"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait," the Doctor offered, his voice insistently cheerful, purposefully ignoring Rose's tone.

"No need. He deserves better," Rose muttered. The Doctor and Jack looked at her, concerned.

"Better than _you_?" Jack asked disbelievingly, just as the Doctor shot out an indignant "What are you on about?"

"Nothin, s'fine," Rose responded on a sigh, not making eye contact with either of them and shaking her head as though to head off any further discussion. "Look, I'm not feeling great. Long day, yeah? Gonna go curl up and watch a film in the media room." She began to shuffle off towards the hall.

Had Rose turned around at that moment, she would have been witness to a rapid conversation in increasingly agitated mime taking place behind her. _Go with her_ mouthed Jack, gesturing at the Doctor and pointing after Rose. _Excuse me?_ The Doctor mouthed back. _GO. WITH. HER._ Jack repeated, gesticulating toward Rose. _SHE NEEDS YOU._ The Doctor rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, before nodding at Jack and then gesturing with his head that Jack should follow her instead. Jack's mouth formed a thin line. He glared at the Doctor for a moment and then spoke to Rose, his voice cheerful although he was still scowling at the Doctor.

"Want company? We're just about done here and the Doc was just saying he could use a rest after all the madness earlier." The Doctor's jaw dropped open in shock as he stared at Jack, but then snapped swiftly shut as Rose turned slightly to look at him.

"You wouldn't mind?" she asked quietly.

With a final evil look at Jack, the Doctor met Rose's gaze and his face softened. "'Course not," he said gently. "Like Jack said, due for a rest anyway, me." Rose nodded at him with a small, sad smile, and he walked to join her, placing his palm at the small of her back as he ushered her down the hall. "Come on, let's go."

Once in the media room, Rose retreated to the deep, cushy sofa that faced the large view screen and curled into a ball, pulling a plush blanket off the back of the sofa and wrapping it around herself before settling into a corner. The Doctor stood uncertainly near the front of the room. "So, what did you want to watch?" he asked her.

Rose shrugged. "I dunno. Hadn't really thought that far. Whatever you like is fine." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms over his chest. She sighed. "I guess… something comforting? Something familiar. How about… Pride and Prejudice?"

"Which version?" The Doctor asked, turning to a panel of buttons and knobs near the screen.

"Sorry?"

"Which version? 1940? 1995? 2005? Those'll be the ones you've seen before. But they keep remaking it for centuries, so I could put on one of the later adaptations if you like. There was one in 2016 with zombies, for instance, and one in 2023 where they swapped the genders. There's also an old west version, a space version, and one where Mr. Darcy is actually a vampire."

Rose looked at the Doctor with wide eyes, her jaw slightly dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yes. The human race, you've got imaginations with no end, but you can't seem to leave the same old stories behind." He shook his head fondly.

Rose shook her head as though to clear it before answering his earlier question. "The BBC version. With Colin Firth? That's the one I watched with my mum when I was growing up."

"BBC it is." The Doctor twirled a dial and hit a button before walking over and joining Rose on the couch. He seemed to debate with himself for a moment before sitting near the middle with his arm slung over the back, not quite close enough to Rose to touch, but close enough that she could reach him if she wanted to. Accepting the unspoken invitation, Rose scooted closer to him and curled up into his side, her head resting on his chest near his shoulder blade. The Doctor brought his arm down from the sofa's back and around her, and they settled back to watch the film.

They weren't very far in when the Doctor heard Rose sniffling quietly, obviously trying not to be heard. Gently, he pulled back from her slightly, turning to face her. She dropped her chin, refusing to look at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks with embarrassment. "Sorry," she whispered.

"Rose," the Doctor asked. "What did Mickey say to you? Did he hurt you?"

"Nah," she replied, still not looking up. "Well, yeah, but I deserved it. He wasn't wrong."

"About what?"

"About how I treated him," Rose answered. The Doctor scoffed. "No, really, Doctor. I ran off and left him behind, and then I just expect him to be waiting for me when I get back? That's not fair."

"Do you…" the Doctor cleared his throat. "Do you wish you hadn't?"

"No!" Rose's head snapped up, finally meeting the Doctor's eyes, which looked pained. "No, of course not, Doctor! I wouldn't give up this life for anything. I love travelling with you. I just…" the Doctor gazed at her, urging her to continue. "I just… wish I hadn't hurt him. He yelled at me, told me I was always going to pick you over him." Rose dropped her head again, blushing slightly. The Doctor's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline in surprise. "And he wasn't wrong, and I just feel bad for leading him on like that I guess. Mickey's been my friend for a long time. He deserved better from me."

The Doctor pulled Rose into a tight hug, and she cried quietly into his chest. "Oh, Rose," he sighed into her hair. "I didn't mean to make you choose, you know. I'm sorry."

Rose sniffed. "You didn't make me, Doctor. I could've asked to go home at any time."

"I could take you back now," he offered quietly, "let you make things right with Rickey the Idiot."

Rose didn't bother to correct him on Mickey's name, knowing that he was just trying to make his offer sound more casual than it was. "Nah," she answered, "Mickey's moved on. And he should. Him and me… we were over a long time ago. I couldn't really be with him, not once…" he voice trailed off.

"Not once?" the Doctor prompted.

Rose pulled back once more and met the Doctor's gaze, biting her lip nervously. "Not once I realized I was in love with someone else," she murmured. The Doctor looked shocked, and was slow to respond. Rose immediately began to backtrack. "Not that I expect anything from you or whatever," she hastened to add, her voice stronger than it had been, "I just thought that…"

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor cut her off, his voice full of wonder. She stopped babbling and looked up at him, eyes hopeful. He smiled, his eyes both soft and joyful, and then reached forward with one hand to tilt her chin up. Slowly, ever so slowly, he brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her gently, just barely pressing her lips to hers. "I love you too," he whispered against her skin.

"Yeah?" Rose breathed, her nose brushing against his.

"Oh yes," he confirmed. And then he kissed her again, more firmly this time, his hand sliding up from her chin and around to cup the back of her head. Rose melted into his kiss, bringing her hands up to his chest, parting her lips slightly to accommodate him. He kissed her slowly and worshipfully, the kiss deepening by some unspoken agreement, their tongues meeting to brush against one another. Rose hummed happily in her throat, and the Doctor pulled her more tightly to him. As Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett danced around each other on the now-forgotten screen before them, the Doctor and Rose moved softly together in a dance of their own - one that felt like comfort and tasted like coming home.


End file.
